• stinky [any]@hexbear.netOP
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    3 years ago

    Found something:

    The Maduro regime’s relationship with one of its traditional allies – the Communist Party of Venezuela (PCV) – has sunk to a new low. Their differences, which until recently seemed tolerable, have grown more acrimonious recently. Communist leaders increasingly support opposition labor unions demanding better wages and have loudly denounced the rampant corruption at top levels of the government, calling for an investigation that includes President Nicolás Maduro himself. The PCV party has also called for an “independent” investigation into the death of Leoner Azuaje, former president of the state-owned cardboard factory, Cartones de Venezuela. Azuaje was jailed during Maduro’s recent anti-corruption purge and allegedly committed suicide in his cell a few days after being locked up. The frequent clashes in the National Assembly between PCV representatives and the legislative leadership headed by Jorge Rodriguez have grown more heated recently. The PCV is against the president’s liberalization of the economy and has demanded a thorough investigation into top-level government corruption.

    Meanwhile, the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), Venezuela’s ruling party since 2010, has accused the PCV of colluding with the opposition and the United States to subvert Hugo Chávez’s Bolivarian revolution. The PCV countered by claiming that its two representatives in the National Assembly have been denied the right to respond to these accusations on the Assembly floor.

    A recent statement from the PCV politburo blames the increasingly tense relationship on “… the systematic breach of the PSUV-PCV Unity Agreement signed in April 2018, and the implementation of an aggressive, ultra-liberal program against the people.” The statement was referring to the government’s economic liberalization measures in response to the nation’s financial collapse. PCV Secretary General Oscar Figuera says they have evidence of a plan by the Maduro administration to abolish the PCV through legal maneuvers used against other allies-turned-critics of the chavismo movement, such as the Patria Para Todos and Podemos parties. The PCV has accused Diosdado Cabello of spearheading the effort. Cabello is the first vice-president of the PSUV and the second most powerful figure in the party.

    The PCV has been part of the Bolivarian revolution since Hugo Chávez was elected president in 1999. It banded together with Patria Para Todos, the Tupamaro Movement, and other minority leftist organizations to create an alliance with the PSUV called the Polo Patriótico, a political voting bloc established by Chávez to defeat the opposition. In late 2022, the PCV denounced the Maduro government in Havana during the 22nd International Meeting of Communist and Workers’ Parties hosted by the Communist Party of Cuba. When he was given the floor, PCV politburo leader Héctor Rodríguez told a surprised audience, “Venezuela’s recent experience reveals the limits of progressivism. It has abandoned anti-imperialist policies of nationalizing strategic industries, confronting large landowners, and defending social and labor rights in favor of a neoliberal economic agenda of privatization, price liberalization, landowner capitulation, labor deregulation and the dismantling of social achievements.”

  • TreadOnMe [none/use name]@hexbear.net
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    3 years ago

    I don’t think we should be surprised when a succdem does succdem things. Maduro has been increasingly liberalizing the economy and making moves to allow in U.S. capital. I sympathize with his position, as expecting a hardline communist stance ala Cuba in the face of U.S. opposition is incredibly unlikely, given the lack of direct invasion history with the U.S.

    However, if the PSUV continues down this line without attempting to ally itself with either Brazil or China, it will actually set itself up for a capitalist coup d’etat. You give the capitalists an inch and they will always take a mile, and Venezuela is no exception, party for socialism or not.

    • Awoo [she/her]@hexbear.net
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      3 years ago

      I will admit not knowing enough info to be sure but I’d really like to know more. I’ve seen some of the things Maduro has said, and it wasn’t long ago that he was explicitly stating that they were building socialism, and he seemed very explicit that he meant marxist socialism not social democracy.

      With that in my mind I have to wonder whether this is really socdem bullshit or whether this is his attempt at a “reform and opening up” approach to development of socialism? And the conflict that caused in China at the time was not dissimilar no? Hardliners and reformers.

      • femicrat [she/her]@hexbear.net
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        3 years ago

        Venezuela implemented Socialism of the 21st century.

        “Leaders who have advocated for this form of socialism include Hugo Chávez of Venezuela, Rafael Correa of Ecuador, Evo Morales of Bolivia, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil and Michelle Bachelet of Chile.[3] Because of the local unique historical conditions, socialism of the 21st century is often contrasted with previous applications of socialism in other countries, with a major difference being the effort towards a more effective economic planning process.”

      • TreadOnMe [none/use name]@hexbear.net
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        3 years ago

        Maduro says a lot of things, but he is no Chavez. He is ultimately pragmatic, and while he will do what he has to do to protect his political power, the legitimacy of his elections, and keeping the U.S. from directly interfering with government operations, sticking towards a particular ideological plan for economic development is probably not high on his list of agenda items.

        We will see what actually happens. Ultimately, much like with China, it is not my country nor my party and therefore not within my capacity to truely judge the true nature of the socialist project taking place there. I hope whatever reforms they do take achieve the general prosperity they are looking for.

        • Awoo [she/her]@hexbear.net
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          3 years ago

          I’m actually perfectly ok with pragmatism, Deng was pragmatic, and while he made mistakes he also set China up for where it is today.

          My point here is ultimately whether Maduro is securing socialist control of the state so that these reforms can’t result in a liberal takeover. I am ok with allowing some investment in if proletarian control of the state is maintained. China has shown that as long as you maintain the DOTP you can do this, the structure and approach is what matters. The 4 cardinal principles combined with the hierarchical structure of China’s electoral system protected China long enough for Xi to clear out the corruption that built up over time.

    • JuneFall [none/use name]@hexbear.net
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      3 years ago

      Even so, there are prominent critics of some aspects of the revolutionary government’s economic strategy.

      I recall discussions with the late president of the Communist Party of Venezuela (PCV), Jerónimo Carrera, in Caracas and London some 16 and 17 years ago. A legendary figure on the country’s left, he had spent almost 70 years—including two periods in prison—as an activist in the revolutionary movement, most recently as a friend, ally, and confidant of Chávez.

      But he argued that loans and more of the oil funds should be invested in heavy and intermediate industry to expand the relative size of the industrial working class. Land reform should be accelerated and agriculture rapidly mechanized to reduce Venezuela’s excessive dependency on imported food.

      Jerónimo also resisted overtures and demands from the Chávez government that the PCV dissolve itself into what became the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV).